No More Hope
by Arrogance Diminishes Wisdom
Summary: Gabriella fell in love with Troy. Troy fell in love with Gabriella. But Gabriella has a dark secret that can ruin it all... TxG. "Of course, I don't get my happy fairy tale ending. I'll never have an average love story..."
1. Memories, and a Sad Beginning

**No More Hope 1x1 – Beginnings**

Gabriella ran across the street, not looking back, not wanting to look back, not needing to look back. Who needed him anyway? He was just a jerk. A jerk she was in love with…

Oh, I'm sorry, you have no clue what I'm talking about, huh? Well, it all started out with a sweet little tale about two teenagers named Gabriella Montez and Troy Bolton. They were happily in love. Until things took a turn for the worst…

I guess we should start when Gabriella and Troy met – August 21, 2003 – a day Troy and Gabriella wish they could forget.

_{Flashback}_

_Troy looked around the park, and his eyes spotted a petite Latina girl, sitting on the park bench and reading. He walked up to her, and tapped her shoulder. The girl looked up from her book._

"_Hello," the girl said, a bit puzzled on why this boy was talking to her._

"_Hi," Troy said, flashing the girl a smile. "I'm Troy Bolton."_

"_Gabriella Montez." Gabriella scooted over on the bench. "Do you want to sit?" she questioned as she patted the space next to her._

"_Sure," Troy stated, and sat down._

{Present Time}

How both Gabriella and Troy wish how that could've been the way that they met, but it wasn't. You know what they say – it starts out bad, it ends out bad.

_{Real Flashback}_

_Gabriella was peacefully reading her favorite book, __Moby Dick__, on the park bench, when she heard two boys snickering. She looked up at a tree from the corner of her eye without moving her head, and saw two boys laughing at her. One had sandy brown, unkempt hair, and the other had an afro as big as the tree he was leaning against. She was able to hear their conversation slightly._

"_Hey, look at that nerd over there," the one with the brown hair said, and pointed at Gabriella with a smirk. Gabriella noticed he had a gap in his two front teeth._

_The afro-kid laughed. "Who comes to the park to _read_!?" he exclaimed with a snort._

"_Nerds. C'mon, let's go make her cry."_

_Gabriella heard them coming, but she didn't look up. It was the most tense part in the book, and – even though she knew how it was going to end – she didn't want those two bozos ruining it for her._

"_Hey book-worm, what'cha reading? The little nerd that could?" gap-kid said with a laugh. Afro-kid laughed too._

_Gabriella looked up into gap-kid's piercing blue eyes. She could read peoples' eyes as well as she could read a book. She saw hurt, and a lifetime of struggle in his eyes, but he didn't want it to show. He gasped a little as he gazed into Gabriella's chocolate-brown eyes._

"_I'm sorry, what was that?" Gabriella questioned, trying to look angry. "'Cuz all I heard was blah, blah, blah." She dashed off, teary eyed. Not because she got her feelings hurt, but because she knew she was only adding on to the gap-kid's stress._

"_Woah… she was…" "gap-kid" – aka Troy – trailed off._

"_Nerdy? Strange? Weird?" "afro-kid" – aka Chad – said with a laugh._

"_Pretty." Troy finished._

"_Eww!" Chad said with a horrifying shudder. "Dude, we're 13. We're not supposed to like girls. And even if we did, not a bookworm! It should be some bodacious babe." Chad made a curvy figure in the air with his hands._

"_Sorry, Corb, what did you say?" Troy said with a smile as he watched Gabriella smooth out her dress and sit down on the bench at the other side of the park._

"_I'm leaving man," Chad stated. He left with a shake of his head, making his brown curls bob side to side._

_Troy walked over to the peaceful Gabriella, who wasn't so peaceful when she saw Troy approaching her._

"_Hey, look I'm sorry –"_

_Gabriella's sigh cut Troy off, and she bookmarked her book. "No, you're not," she said in a flat tone._

"_Yes, really, I am," Troy apologized. He looked into Gabriella's eyes. Gabriella mentally sighed happily. His eyes were becoming her comfort zone._

"_Okay," she said, trying not to sound dreamy. "I believe you. Bye." And with that, Gabriella(attempted) to walk off. Of course, she was followed by a desperate Troy. "Wait, please," he pleaded._

_She unwillingly turned around. "What?" she snapped. "And make it quick."_

"_Will I get to see you again?" Troy asked._

"_Chee-sy!" Gabriella said in a sing-song voice, and started to walk away again._

"_I'm Troy Bolton!" he yelled after her. She smiled at his desperatness and turned around._

"_I'm pissed off," she said sarcastically. "Well, see ya," and she successfully walked away. Troy let out a long, low groan._

{Present Time}

You might be thinking, 'Aww, he apologized and now they love each other.' Ha, I wish it was that simple. But, of course, love always leads to drama, right?

August 21, 2007…

Gabriella entered East High slowly. It was the first day of school, and her first day of junior year at this school. She looked around, absorbing the scene. She saw people talking, making out, and hurrying to their classes. One girl stood out from the others. She was beach blonde, and had a hot pink dress that brought out her curves. She had a black clutch and pumps, and three girls and a boy were gathered around her. The thing that was so unique about this girl was that she was staring back at Gabriella.

"Ryan, look at the new girl. Can you spell 'nerd'?" the blonde girl across the hall told the boy standing next to her. Gabriella assumed the boy was Ryan.

"N-E-R-D," Ryan said with a sarcastic smirk.

"Ugh, that is so fourth grade. Grow up, Ryan!" With that, the girl slammed her locker door shut, and stalked off. The girls followed her quickly, but the boy hesitated and looked at Gabriella, his head cocked to the side. Then, he looked after the girl, rolled his eyes, and eventually followed.

Gabriella walked down the halls to her first period – drama. When she entered (surprise, surprise) she saw the girl and Ryan. The girl just rolled her eyes and looked forward. Gabriella took her seat at the front, and started taking some books out of her bookbag.

Troy walked into the classroom. He laid his eyes on a black haired girl, then soon realized who it was. He took the empty seat next to her. "Nice to see you again, pissed off," he said to her, and smiled smugly.

Gabriella immediately recognized the voice and looked up. "T-Troy? Troy Bolton from the park four years ago?"

"The one and only," Troy said with a broad smile.

Gabriella stared deep into his eyes. It was the same – hurt, lifetime of struggle – but then she saw that part of it was her fault. When he blew her off, it only added on to all of it. She let herself rest in his eyes for a minute, amazed at how blue they could really be.

But, she had to put her tough face on. She was a deep cut now, and couldn't let anybody in anymore.

"Nice to see you too, Troy," she said as she pulled out her notebook. She kept her mouth in a straight line, and looked forward. She felt his eyes making a hole in her back, but she just looked at Ms. Darbus – the drama teacher – and tried not to feel guilty for Troy.

**&**

Gabriella walked into the lunch room, and desperately looked for a place to sit. She quickly realized the social groups. The nerds – who had their noses stuck into a book as if it was glued there. The snobby cheerleaders – who were making fun of the nerds. (No surprise, she saw the blondie from her first period there) The band geeks – who were practicing for the "Big Concert" which Gabriella saw a poster for plastered on the white walls of the hallways. The emos – which one of them were showing of their new razors. And of course, the always lovely jocks. Among that group, they had one of the nerds in a headlock, and were laughing their heads off. For some reason that Gabriella didn't know why, she just stared at them.

She looked at each of them, memorizing their faces. She almost dropped her plate when her eyes laid on Troy. He spotted her, smirked, winked at her, and motioned her to come over. She looked around, searching (for dear life) for another place to sit. She finally gave up and made her way to the jock table.

Once she sat down next to Troy, she felt the whole student populations' eyes on her. She simply just blushed and poked at her mac and cheese.

Chad stared at Gabriella, then finally leaned over to Troy and whispered, "She looks familiar."

"Park, four years ago," Troy whispered back.

Chad thought about it for a minute, then – once he realized who it was – he slammed his fists down on the table and stood up.

"Her!?" Chad screamed. The whole cafeteria looked at him.

"Chad, dude, calm down," Troy said calmly.

"No! You're letting that nerd sit here!?"

"Chad! Calm down!" Troy yelled back, getting angry.

"She was reading at the park! No one reads at the park!"

"So!? She does! I'm fine with it!"

"Can I say something here?" Gabriella asked, raising her hand.

"NO!" Troy and Chad yelled at her simultaneously, and went back to their argument.

Gabriella just exhaled slowly, threw away her food, and exited the cafeteria.

Troy and Chad watched her walk away, then turned to each other. "Nice, look what you did," Chad said at the same time as Troy said, "Nice going. Now she'll never talk to me again."

Troy ran out of the cafeteria, and started searching for Gabriella in the hallways. Little did he know, he'd never find her.


	2. Drunk Love

Because, as all girls know, the girls' bathroom is our refuge.

Now, if Troy was bold and did look in the girls' bathroom for her, than I guess it wouldn't be "where he'll never find her" anymore. More like "where he'll never find her if he was a 'coward' and won't look in the bathroom."

He finally gave up after searching out all the hallways, classrooms, and such. He stopped when he was across the hall from the girls' bathroom. He started to think. 'She might be in there, but then again, isn't that too cliché? Ooh, that's a French word! I bet Mrs. Enseignant will give me a gold star!' He slapped his cheek once he got sidetracked and started thinking hard.

'If I were a girl, I would hide in the bathroom from a guy. I'd be all, '_Ooh_, look at me! I'm sad and _need_ somewhere to go! _Ooh_, the bathroom!' and run off there.'

A short girl walked out of the bathroom, and saw Troy staring at the bathroom. She glared at him, and said, "Pervert," then stalked away. Troy grumbled, "Shrimp," after her, but not loud enough for her to hear his remark.

'She's gotta come out of there – if she's really in there. It was Chad's fault anyway. Why does she have to take it out on _me_? And I thought I actually had her for a second. But then she puts on her 'not getting to me' face and I'm left looking at her like 'Oh no you didn't'.'

The bathroom door suddenly creaked open, interrupting Troy's thoughts. He was pleased to see Gabriella's thin figure standing at the frame, looking at him.

"What?" she spat.

"How did you know I was out here?" asked a confused Troy.

Gabriella smirked. "You think out loud. I heard all the way from 'Chad's fault' to 'oh no you didn't,'" she managed through a giggle.

Gabriella's giggle put a smile on Troy's face. "I like your giggle," he confessed without thinking. Her smile quickly vanished.

"Flattered, Troy, but not enough to get to me," she said as she walked away. He started to get up, just like she planned. "By the way, don't bother trying to follow me. There's another bathroom down the hall," she cried over her shoulder to him. He sunk to the floor, hopeless.

Aha, so we come to this little word above. "Hopeless." A word that contains a word in the title, if you haven't noticed. I warn you, don't try to piece this whole Troyella love/hate thing together just yet. There are still bits and pieces that you need to know. It's like a jigsaw puzzle. You can't complete the puzzle without all the puzzle pieces, right? Well, you're just missing more pieces than you think right now.

Anyways, back to our charming little story. Gabriella fibbed about the bathroom down the hallway. She was sure Troy knew that, and she smiled at his respect towards her, and didn't follow her. Or so she thought. She glanced behind her. Nothing.

'Oh, stop being so paranoid, Montez.'

'How can you not be paranoid!? Everything's wrong!'

'Chill out, dude. Ditch school for a day.'

'What? So I can be greeted by that monster at home? No, I'll pass.'

'You don't necessarily have to go home, you know. Go to the Frito Burrito. You know how you love their burritos stuffed with Fritos! (A/N: Yes, I just made the Frito Burrito up. xD Play along here.)'

'Okay, yeah, but it's also the monster's favorite food joint. What if he's there, waiting for you, huh!?'

'Could you please stop referring to him as a monster? He's your boyfriend!'

'A boyfriend who's a _monster_!'

"You know you're screwed up when you're arguing with yourself," Gabriella muttered under her breath. She decided to take up the offer on her laid back self, and ditched school for the day. She went to the Frito Burrito, and ordered her signature burrito and a Cola. She took her time eating the burrito, and started getting lost in her thoughts. She got upset with herself when she realized most of her thoughts were about a two topics she'd rather not discuss – Troy, and 'The Monster'. At this point, she didn't want to even think his name.

Once she was done with the burrito, she just sat in her Ford Focus – a gift from the monster. That was the thing about this man. He showered her with gifts, thinking it would make up for every slap and kick. Think of it as someone insulting you, then giving you money, thinking that it will 'make up' for the insult. But these gifts meant nothing to Gabriella. Each time she arrived at the house to see him holding diamond earrings, or car keys, or something flashy, she took them out of habit; not because she wanted it.

The monster was just like a fly to her – annoying, trying to get in your business, buzzing in your ears. She hated – absolutely hated – this fly. The fly constantly annoyed her. Not even her singing 'Shoo fly, don't bother me' in her head helps her get over this annoyance anymore. (Not like it even helped in the first place.)

She decided to go back to school, since she had nothing better to do. But, as she started up the car, she found herself driving past the school. To a place where teenagers where restricted, but could easily get in with a winning smile, an easy guard at the door, and a fake ID.

**&**

"Nice way to get rid of me," Troy mumbled under his breath. "There aren't any freakin bathrooms down the hall."

His phone interrupted his complaints.

CHAD:

mr. roy is mad get 2 class now or else u'll have detention!!!!!!

Troy flipped his phone shut, not wanting to talk to anyone. It was times like this when he wished he was a girl. If you saw a boy just sitting there in the boys' bathroom, wouldn't you get suspicious?

**CHAD:**

**ps – i'm blamin u if i get detention 4 havin my fone out!!!!**

Troy sighed, and decided to reply.

**TROY:**

**who needs mr roy? when will we need to know what e equals mc blah blah blah in our life?????**

**CHAD:**

**u'd b surprised**

**TROY:**

**dont even start, man**

**CHAD: **

**just get 2 class already. shoot, mr roys just saw my fone (i think…….) good luck getting 2 class!!!!**

Troy stared at the message from Chad, and suddenly felt extremely exhausted. Who needed math and science and to know what a stupid pâté is?

**&**

Gabriella got in the bar easily. A wink, a smile, a hair flip – done. Drinking would've never been an option for her. But – with the combination of being tired, worn out, and abused – she considered it.

"Hit me with another one," Gabriella said with a giggle. She was a bit on the tipsy side at this point.

"This is your last one, miss. The bar's limit on drinks is 15," the bartender explained while he handed her a Budweiser.

"Whatever," Gabriella mumbled under her breath as she took a long swig of the drink.

"Excuse me, miss," a blonde hair boy said while he came out from behind Gabriella. Gabriella jumped a little and giggled.

"H-hey, you loo-o-o-k familiar. Are you my d-daddy?" Gabriella asked the boy.

The boy chuckled. "A bit drunk, are we?"

Gabriella rested her head on the cold countertop and sighed. "Yes," she mumbled. "I'm just so lost."

"Well, you're not the only one," the boy said with a smile. "One beer, please," he told the bartender.

"Wait… d-don't you go to East High? Always following that b-bitch around?" Gabriella questioned.

The boy's face fell a little. "I guess Sharpay can be a bitch. Only when she wants to."

"So… she wants to b-b-be a bitch all the time…?" Gabriella asked.

The boy chuckled. "That's quite rude, miss."

"You said it yourself – I'm just an unworthy, stupid, bitchy drunk."

"I don't remember the unworthy, stupid, or bitchy in my comment," the boy said with a swig of beer.

Gabriella looked at him before mumbling, "Yeah, well, I added it."

The boy heard her, and chuckled. "I'm Ryan Evans."

"Gabriella Montez," Gabriella managed before passing out on the counter.

**&**

The dismissal bell rang, and Troy wandered out of the school, almost trampled by all the other students rushing out. The first day at East High is never a favorite for most. With all the snobby kids, boring teachers, and detention slips passed out everyday, it was a miracle that people made it out alive.

"Troy!" a familiar high-pitched voice rang out. Troy groaned and turned around.

"Sharpay…" he said awkwardly. He knew he was going to hear the words 'you,' 'me,' 'date,' 'Saturday,' and a giggle.

"So, would you like to go on a date with me on Saturday?" Sharpay asked with a giggle.

Troy saw a dizzy Gabriella wandering in the parking lot. "Sorry, Shar, I-I can't. I have… plans…?"

Sharpay frowned, but remembering that frowns being wrinkles, she smoothed her face out. "Okay, maybe another time. GO TEAM!" she shouted as she was accompanied by a group of cheerleaders.

Troy bolted to Gabriella, his Converse almost giving out under his feet. "Gabriella!" he shouted.

"Ooh, the gods are calling!" Gabriella shouted. "They sound cute too," she said through a giggle.

'Oh, gosh, she's drunk,' Troy assumed quickly. "I've been called a god, but unfortunately, I'm not one," he explained as he jogged over.

"Ooh, Troysie!" Gabriella yelled. An angry Sharpay heard and turned around.

"No. One. Calls. Him. Troysie. But. _ME_!" she yelled as she took off her pumps and ran over to tackle Gabriella.

"Ooh, look, it's that Bitchpay," Gabriella said with a smirk.

"What did you just say?" Sharpay challenged.

"Not me. Some really cute guy named Ryan Evans," Gabriella said with a shrug. Sharpay screamed. "EEEWW, you scream loud!" Gabriella said, covering her ears.

"You unworthy, lying bitch!" Sharpay screamed at Gabriella. "My brother would never do such a thing!"

"Oh yes he did. He's an awesome fucker too," Gabriella said and smirked.

Troy's face fell. "What!?" he and Sharpay asked simultaneously.

Gabriella secretly winked at Troy. "Yeah, how he… how he…" was all she could say before she collapsed on the ground. Sharpay thought she might be dead, and she smirked, but when she heard snoring, she groaned.

"Stupid ass bitch," she mumbled before returning to her friends.


	3. Wake Up in the Wrong Bed

"Oh, God, what happened?" Gabriella asked, rubbing her head. She could've been pounded with hammers on her head, and it wouldn't feel worse than the headache that she was experiencing. She tried to recall what had happened, but nothing came to her. She looked around, and the room was consciously unfamiliar. There were basketball posters, blue painting on the walls, and she was sleeping in a comfortable bed that was made up of blue comforters. She tried to step out of bed, but her feet came in contact with a body on the ground.

"Ahh!" she screamed, and scrambeled back into bed. The body groaned, and arose from the floor. It stretched and yawned. Gabriella recognized the body, and caught her breath when she realized it was only Troy.

"You scared me!" she breathed and pulled the blankets around her body.

"Sorry," Troy apologized, still a little out of it.

"What am I doing here!?" she demanded. That woke Troy up.

"You were drunk, you passed out, I didn't know where you lived, I brought you here. Bing, bang, boom – done," Troy said, crossing his arms and flashing a lazy smile at Gabriella.  
"No bing, bang, boom, done bull! This is… this is bing, bang, boom, _not_ done!" Gabriella threw her arms in the air, infuriated.

"Brie, chill,"

_{Flashback}_

"_Gabriella!" he screamed at her before gripping her wrist tightly and pulling him towards her. "You are running away with me, whether you like it or not."_

"_Why me!?" she screamed back at him, flinching from the pain of her wrist. "Why don't you take some other girl that you mess around with in the middle of the night while I'm sleeping!?"_

"_Uhm, hello?" he said in an isn't-it-obvious tone. "We were assigned together."_

"_That means nothing to me anymore," Gabriella stated. She could almost feel her eyes going red with fury._

"_It never meant anything to me either, but if I go down, you're going down with me!" he hissed, tightening his grip on her wrist. Her knees started wobbling, and she fell to the ground in pain as he let go of her wrist. She saw bright red fingers marks where her olive-toned skin should be._

"_Now, look here, Brie," he said. She flinched at the nickname. "We run away, because this place is bull. We _stay_ away, because this place is bull. If we're assigned, we do everything together, right?" he questioned rhetorically._

"_Never, ever, in a million years with you," she spat._

_Yet somehow, a million ears went by quicker than planned, because she ended up being forced to leave with the monster anyways. _

{Present time}

"Brie? Brie?" Troy asked, adding emphasis to the 'e' in the second call.

"Don't call me Brie," Gabriella grumbled, folding her arms across her chest. What type of Greek god power did he have on her that made her want to be by him forever, but never been near him!?

"Why?" Troy challenged.

"It's a long story that I would tell anyone but _you_!" she snapped angrily. She immediately covered my harsh mouth with my hand. She stuck her finger in her mouth slightly, and started nibbling on it – a disgusting nervous habit.

"Well, then, I guess I'll be going…" Troy staggered out of the room sadly and quietly. Gabriella felt a twinge of guilt for him, but as soon as it was there, it was gone. Why should she feel sorry for him? She felt no need to. She opened the window, and the morning breeze washed over her. Her hair whipped around her face while she searched for a place to help her to get to the ground safely. She found a window right below this one with a little ledge. She put her feet over effortlessly, and climbed down. Her feet soon came in contact with the soft earth.

Then she ran.

-

"Gabriella this is my – Gabriella?"

Troy walked back into his room slowly, finally figuring out that this was his house and his bedroom. But when he walked in, all he saw was the window open, and his bedroom the same as it was. He sighed.

"Nice going Bolton," Troy mumbled while running a hand through his messy hair. "You get the drunk girl home, she leaves. Except this time, there's nothing in between those two."


End file.
